Dream A Little Dream
by Kari Kurofai
Summary: Lionblaze dreams of the dark future to come. Slight Ash/Lion


**Dream A Little Dream**

This is a request from Warriors Slash Love. I tried to fulfill the request exactly as she had asked, a pre-Long Shadows dream sequence. But in the end I found it impossible, since such things would give away the plot for Glass Fire Curse. So instead, my apologies, this takes place sometime in Fading Echoes. Gomen. But please enjoy anyways.

The sky was a pure, almost unearthly blue without a cloud in it's vast expanse. The grass was a vibrant green, as if the sun could never reach it and dry it out, and leaf fall had never affected it. It reached up and tickled along Lionblaze's paws as he walked, reminding him of whispers and fur and sleeping cats who rolled over into his nest in the warriors den and disturbed his rest.

He could not remember a place such as this in Thunderclan territory, and it unnerved him how the rolling hills seemed almost like Windclan, though their was no scent of either. He continued on, trying to leave the hills and the much too green grass and blue sky behind him. His amber eyes lit up as he caught sight of an outcropping of trees ahead, and he bounded towards it in relief. He was Thunderclan born and bread, the trees were his home, not these windswept plains he turned his back to.

There was a crowd of undergrowth and ferns clumped at the base of the first layer of trees, and he curiously sniffed along them, searching for a scent that would tell him who's territory he was on. But he found none. Frowning slightly, he continued on into the trees, tail swishing through the plants, half hoping to scare a mouse or two out of it's hiding place. Though, in truth, he felt no hunger. He was merely bored.

It was times like this that he wished that Dovepaw was with him, so she could tell him why exactly this place was so empty. It unnerved him. There were no birds, no smells of life aside from the various foliage, and the only sound was that of the wind whistling along over the treetops. But he felt guilty for thinking that way. Dovepaw was not a tool, and he shouldn't treat her as such. Although it would be a great help to have her here, it was too quiet for his liking.

A rustle in the undergrowth ahead alerted him that he was not alone in this forest, and he jumped back, fur bristling as a small head poked out of the bracken. At first, he almost thought it was Ivypaw, and he was just about to call out her name when he realized he had been mistaken. No, this small, almost kit-sized apprentice was male. Not Ivypaw, though he could understand why he'd mistaken him to be so.

His fur was a fluffy, speckled gray, and his eyes a dark, midnight blue that was almost identical to his apprentice's sister. The little cat cocked his head to the side, studying Lionblaze with noticeable curiosity, "Are you from Windclan?" he asked, blue eyes wide.

"Uh . . . No," Lionblaze answered, feeling a bit confused. He felt as if he should recognize this little cat, though he found that he was still unable to pick up any sort of scent besides that of the fronds and trees around them.

The little cat flicked his tail towards the direction Lionblaze had come, "But you came off of Windclan territory."

"I was a bit lost," Lionblaze admitted. He watched as the cat's fur seemed to puff up a bit, suspicion clear in his azure gaze. "I'm Thunderclan," he assured after a moment of amusement. Really, did this little tuft of fur think he could take on a full grown warrior? And one of the tree at that? It would have been quite a foolish endeavor.

There was a pause in their conversation, the stranger eyeing him warily, "You don't smell like it," he said finally, nose held high.

"Well neither do you," Lionblaze retorted, "You don't smell like anything."

"Maybe your nose is broken," the little apprentice snorted.

"It is not! I can smell the trees and the bracken and everything else that isn't you," Lionblaze huffed indignantly, though he worried for a moment. Could a cat lose half of his scenting abilities? No, it just wasn't possible.

"S'broken," the apprentice muttered. He turned his back to the fiery warrior, flicking his tail for him to follow, "Well, come on then. I'll take you to Firestar. He'll know if you're Thunderclan or not."

A wash of relief swept over Lionblaze. Firestar was still leader of Thunderclan. Maybe he really did just get lost somehow, though he couldn't recall a cat like this in his clan. He supposed he'd find out soon enough though. The small apprentice lead him though the undergrowth and between some twisting trees, out into a clearing Lionblaze didn't recognize.

The ground was padded flat, worn down by thousands of paws running over it over time. A huge rock stood near it's eastern side, between two of four towering oaks that encircled the clearing. The rock too was almost smooth from paws padding over it's surface. "What is this place?" he asked, wondering how he'd missed such an obvious sight just within his own territory.

"Fourtrees," the apprentice said, eyes narrowing, "Don't you know that? We gather here every moon to meet with the other clans."

"No, we gather at the island . . ." Lionblaze stopped short, realization prickling in his mind. Fourtrees. The old forest. It _couldn't _be . . .

"Do you mind if I take a look around?" he asked, and to his surprise, the apprentice shook his head. "Thank you."

He padded over to the Great Rock, bunching his hind legs and leaping up onto it, claws scrabbling for a hold. in the stories, the rock had been overturned, an unnatural thing, uprooted and left lying on it's side. But it seemed to be in perfect shape now. He kneaded his paws into it's surface, wishing he had his brother's power to draw up memories from inanimate objects. In his mind, he could almost see the cats that had stood here. Tallstar, Leapordstar, Tigerstar, and Bluestar, when Tigerstar had first claimed control of Shadowclan. He could envision the blood, splattering over this rock and Firestar's paws as Tigerstar's life was ripped away from him, staining the sacred soil with death. And he could almost hear the screams and wails of battle of when Lionclan had defeated Bloodclan, Scourge's blood spilled just beneath this very spot. It was almost real.

When he opened his eyes again, the little apprentice had vanished, and he found himself standing alone in the clearing. His heart flittered in it's even beats with unease, his ears flicking as he noticed that even the faint sound of the wind had stilled. Looking up, he noticed the sky had blackened with clouds, and he shrunk into himself, fur raising up along his spine as a hiss threatened to escape him at the sight.

A cold laugh erupted around the clearing, and he whirled on the rock, searching for it's source. The apprentice had appeared again, and his hackles raised. No, it wasn't the cat that had led him here. This time, he realized with a start, that it was Ivypaw, and not the young tom. "Ivypaw?" he gasped out, shocked as he realized that the cruel laugh had come from the small apprentice.

"Didn't you know already?" she mocked, circling the stone with an eerily calm gaze that reminded him of someone. "You suspected it, didn't you? Back at the battle with Shadowclan. That _dream_ I had wasn't real, Lionblaze. And you knew it."

"He was always a trusting fool," another voice mused from the shadows that had begun to sweep over the clearing. "Just like Firestar. That's why he never could have been one of us." Lionblaze flinched as he saw ice-blue eyes gleam in the growing darkness, seconds before Hawkfrost padded out, dark tabby stripes nearly invisible in the gloom. "We said that you'd never be able to get away, foolish half-blood," Hawkfrost sneered. "And now, I can stalk you in the waking world too." Lionblaze shuddered, realizing finally that this was a dream, the one and only place he could be hurt.

"There was only one who had ever tried to protect you, wasn't there. And now he's gone. What will you do?" another voice laughed, and Lionblaze whirled, tail fluffing up with fear. Now that,_ that_ was a voice he recognized.

He was not completely surprised this time as his own sister stalked out of the undergrowth, shaking her dark pelt free of a thorn of bramble. "H-Hollyleaf?"

"You were too much of a coward to kill him, Lionblaze," she smirked, whispers twitching with amusement. "What will you do now that I have killed him?" She leapt up onto the rock beside him, and his ears flattened against his head as he realized he was rooted to the spot. "He would have ruined us, Lionblaze. And you were ready to just stand by and let him, weren't you."

"I'm not one to go around killing innocent cats!" he hissed, fur standing on end.

"You killed Russetfur," she reminded sharply, "How is that any different?"

"I was defending my life!" he snapped.

"And how is our honor any different?" she mewed.

He shook his head, "You were a fool, Hollyleaf. Why kill him when you were just going to do exactly what he did in the end?"

She stalled, eyes wide. And that was all the time Lionblaze needed. His paws scrambled back on the rock, and he yowled as she realized what he was doing, and leapt at him, claws outstretched. His paws flailed in the air as he went careening over the edge of the stone, and he gasped as something darted between himself and his sister, pushing her back before teeth dug into his scruff. He huffed as he hit the ground, though the force of his fall had been lessoned by the cat that had caught him. His eyes darted upwards, meeting the azure-blue of the apprentice that had led him here.

"You are a pain in my tail," the cat snorted, and Lionblaze felt his heart shudder to a stop as he realized that this was the apprentice he'd met before, now a warrior. And one he knew too well, at that.

"Ashfur?" he gasped, disbelief coursing through him.

Somewhere to their right, Hawkfrost hissed in annoyance, "You fool! How dare you defend him when you're one of us!"

Lionblaze scrambled to his paws, glancing between the cats around him. While Hawkfrost's and Ashfur's pelts glistened with an unearthly black that reminded him of The Place Of No Stars, he was startled to see that Hollyleaf and Ivypaw had no such auras on them. What did that mean. a paw was placed in front of him as Ashfur blocked Lionblaze from Hawkfrost's burning gaze, "I was never one of you. I may have helped you, yes. But that was because you whispered lie sin my ears. Lionblaze is _my _apprentice, and I will not let you hurt him!"

"Ashfur . . ." The words wouldn't come, and Lionblaze felt his heart clench with anguish. What could he say? I'm sorry? I forgive you? No, neither seemed appropriate. Even _thank you_ sounded foreign on his tongue. So he swallowed all those words, padding up to briefly press his nose into the fur on Ashfur's shoulder.

The older warrior blinked, and turned to draw his tongue over Lionblaze's forehead soothingly. "Go," he urged, flicking his tail to the outskirts of the trees. "They can not harm you as long as I remain here."

So Lionblaze ran, eyes squeezing shut as he heard the shrieks and yowls of battle behind him. And he wondered, just for a moment, what exactly he would have to do to free a cat from the binds of The Dark Forest.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Hmm . . . This was quite random indeed. I was stuck on it for quite a bit, so I simply wrote what popped into my head. Slight spoilers for Omen of The Stars, but whatever. I keep hoping Ashfur will jump in to rescue Lionblaze sooner or later in the series. After all, Vicky has so far refused to tell me whether or not he's in Starclan or Place Of No Stars. And while that answer when it came to Hollyleaf pointed to her being alive, Ashfur is most certainly dead, unfortunately. So, how could they corrupt him forever? I think he'll be the character we'll get to see redemption for in the end.

Anywho . . . It wasn't too slashy, unfortunately. But I hope u like it anyways. I just wanted to talk about how Ashfur's bond with Lionblaze. Hahaha. Gomen.


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